U.S./World Sports category, Page 60
Mutual respect exists between Oregon’s Dana Altman, Creighton’s Greg McDermott
When the third-seeded Creighton Bluejays take the court Saturday for their NCAA Tournament second-round game with 11th-seeded Oregon at PPG Paints Arena, the past and present of their basketball program will intersect. Coaching the Ducks is Dana Altman, who previously coached at Creighton from 1994-2010. After Altman’s departure for Oregon,...
Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard praises Oakland’s Jack Gohlke for dominant game vs. KentuckyVideo
During Thursday’s slate of NCAA Tournament first-round games being played at PPG Paints Arena, Oregon Ducks senior Jermaine Couisnard’s performance vs. South Carolina looked as if it would be the top story from all the action. Couisnard, who played three seasons with the Gamecocks before transferring to Oregon two years...
Breaking down No. 11 Oregon vs. No. 3 Creighton
No. 11 Oregon vs. No. 3 Creighton 9:40 p.m. Saturday, PPG Paints Arena TV: TBS Winner plays: Winner of No. 2 Tennessee (25-8)/No. 7 Texas (21-12) March 28-29 in the Sweet 16 Series history: Oregon leads the all-time series 2-1. Oregon (24-11, 15-8 Pac-12) Coach: Dana Altman (14th season) How...
N.C. State scorches Texas Tech as another double-digit seed wins in Pittsburgh
N.C. State opened the NCAA Tournament where it left off in conference play — with a win. The surprising Wolfpack have been doing that a lot lately. Ben Middlebrooks scored a season-high 21 points, Mohamad Diarra went for 17 points and 12 rebounds, and ACC champion N.C. State used its...
Another early exit for Kentucky, John Calipari shows his program is far removed from its heyday
John Calipari finished the postgame handshake line and made a beeline toward the locker room. A quick exit. Another early one for Kentucky. As Calipari walked off the floor at PPG Paints Arena in what had been an otherwise warm return trip to his blue-collar Western Pennsylvania roots, he kept...
Kentucky’s shocking loss to Oakland busts millions of brackets
LAS VEGAS — Kentucky’s 80-76 loss to Oakland didn’t just end a bunch of perfect brackets. It all but ruined many when it comes to the big picture. The third-seeded Wildcats were picked in 95% of brackets in the ESPN Tournament Challenge to beat the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies. What’s more,...
Oakland brings March Madness to Pittsburgh with upset of 3rd-seeded Kentucky
During Jack Gohlke’s previous trip into Pittsburgh in late February, he scored nine points against Robert Morris. It took less than a month, but his return to the city with the 14th-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies put him on the brink of celebrity status. Gohlke, a senior who started his college...
Kevin Streelman uses new gadget on greens, leads at Innisbrook
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Kevin Streelman has a new ball marker to help with alignment that required USGA approval before he teed off Thursday in the Valspar Championship. He had 10 consecutive one-putt greens on his way to a 7-under-par 64 and a one-shot lead. Streelman took advantage of gorgeous...
FAU’s Dusty May enters March Madness eyeing return to Final Four as speculation swirls about futureVideo
NEW YORK — The chatter starts even before the first coach is fired, and by the time college basketball coaching jobs actually open up, the speculation is rampant about who is going where. Yes, Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said, the constant rumors about his future are a distraction, and...
Jermaine Couisnard’s 40 points power No. 11 Oregon to upset of No. 6 South Carolina
Oregon senior guard Jermaine Couisnard knows all about putting up big-time numbers in high-pressure situations. A few weeks ago, he scored 39 points at No. 6 Arizona. But Couisnard’s performance Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament vs. South Carolina propelled him to new...
NASCAR’s next big hopeful, teenager Connor Zilisch, makes national debut
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A promising young driver who might just be one of NASCAR’s budding new stars will make his national series debut this Saturday in the Truck Series race at Circuit of the Americas. Connor Zilisch then will hop a private jet and hustle his way to Pensacola, Fla.,...
NCAA notebook: Crowd watching Creighton/Akron game at PPG Paints Arena distracted by Duquesne’s victory in Omaha
For several moments Thursday afternoon, the crowd at PPG Paints Arena divided its attention between the Creighton/Akron game and what was happening 839 miles away in Omaha, Neb. Greg McDermott laughs answering a question from @KevinGormanPGH about the crowd watching Duquesne during their game: "It was a little odd to...
Creighton uses height advantage, depth to cruise past Akron in 1st round
When Creighton coach Greg McDermott chose to exploit its considerable height advantage over Akron by planting 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner in the paint, he knew the Zips could counter by stretching the floor and keeping up the frenetic pace. What Creighton couldn’t have counted on was Akron star Enrique Freeman’s...
Grambling State beats Montana State in OT of First Four
DAYTON, Ohio — Jimel Cofer scored all 19 of his points in the second half and overtime, and Grambling State rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Montana State, 88-81, to earn its first NCAA Tournament win in program history in the First Four on Tuesday night. The Southwestern Athletic...
Akron amped for chance to upset Creighton in NCAAs at Pittsburgh
The Akron Zips took the short trip to Pittsburgh this week as the Mid-American Conference’s lone representative in the NCAA Tournament, but Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot, their former longtime coach, won’t be there Thursday to watch his old team take on No. 3 seed Creighton in a Midwest Region first-round game...
Bettors counting on upsets as they put money on long shots this March Madness
LAS VEGAS — Given the numerous upsets that led to last year’s unusual Final Four and the many bids stolen in this season’s conference tournaments, bettors aren’t inclined to go chalk when laying wagers for the NCAA Tournament. “People are loving some (under)dogs,” BetMGM trading manager Seamus Magee said. “We’ve...
PPG Paints Arena crowd may lean toward Kentucky, former WPIAL stars Tre Mitchell, Adou Thiero
After graduating from Elizabeth Forward High School and perhaps a time or two through the years, Kentucky’s Tre Mitchell heard from the coaches at Pitt. After all, he has attended four institutions of higher learning and basketball through the years, and it seems some school or another always was recruiting...
CBS announcer Ian Eagle lands in top spot for NCAA Tournament
Even though Ian Eagle is stepping into a new role as the lead announcer for CBS and TNT Sports’ coverage of the men’s NCAA Tournament, plenty of things will make it familiar. One of Eagle’s partners is Bill Raftery, the analyst for Nets games when Eagle moved to the television...
Creighton’s Isaac Traudt plays through diabetes to make impact
OMAHA, Neb. — When Creighton basketball player Isaac Traudt’s teammates take a break at practice, they might grab a drink of water, chat it up or go over assignments. Traudt does that, too, but not before he checks a device attached to his body that tells him his blood glucose...
Oakland embraces Cinderella story in ultimate underdog role against heavily favored Kentucky
While advocating for the NCAA Tournament to avoid expansion, Oakland coach Greg Kampe dropped a dime by noting Wednesday marked the 70th anniversary of the real-life inspiration for “Hoosiers,” the ultimate underdog and quintessential basketball movie. For the love of Fang Mitchell and Coppin State, everyone loves a Cinderella story...
Caitlin Clark, freshmen JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo top AP women’s All-America team
Caitlin Clark has been a mainstay on the Associated Press All-America team the past few seasons. The NCAA’s all-time scoring leader from Iowa was honored for the third straight year Wednesday, becoming the 11th player to earn the distinction three times. She was a unanimous choice from the 35-member national...
March Madness hits different for Tom Izzo at Michigan State this season
EAST LANSING, Mich. — March Madness kept Tom Izzo sleepless for more than 24 hours before he heard and saw Michigan State made it into a 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Hall of Fame coach said he had one of the most anxious days of his career Sunday, sensing his...
March Madness field in Pittsburgh chock full of prospective NBA talent
If and when South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles hears his name called in the NBA Draft, the wacky start to his collegiate career will offer analysts plenty of talking points. The true freshman forward joined the Gamecocks last summer as a blue-chip recruit aiming to make a quick impact but...
Moon’s John Calipari chases NCAA Tournament victory for Kentucky without losing sight of his roots
Five years ago, John Calipari signed a 10-year, $86 million contract extension to remain Kentucky’s coach for the remainder of this decade. He sat inside PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday — not far from the brightly lit floor where Kentucky (23-9) will play Oakland (23-11) on Thursday in an NCAA...
Breaking down No. 6 South Carolina vs. No. 11 Oregon
No. 6 South Carolina vs. No. 11 Oregon 4 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: TNT Winner plays: Winner of 3-Creighton (23-9)/14-Akron (24-10) on Saturday in second round Series history: 1st all-time meeting South Carolina (26-7) Coach: Lamont Paris (2nd season) How they got here: South Carolina earned an at-large...
